Kwara state government has said that 90 per cent of its ongoing over 22 infrastructural projects are being handled by local contractors.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the state capital during an inspection visits to some of the ongoing projects, the state commissioner for Works, Engineer Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu, said that the
Projects such as roads and flyover projects are located in the three senatorial districts of the state.
The commissioner, who said that the state government had earlier collated a list of local contractors in the state at the inception of the administration towards patronizing them, added that, “we want indigenes of the state to get the best in what we are doing”.
“We believe they will do well with strict supervision on our part in order to adhere to scope of work as stipulated in the contract. Most of our road projects are being done by some local contractors who have lots of other investments in the state spanning long years. Their workers are indigenes of the state. They are also indigenes of the state. We want Kwarans to get the best in what we are doing”.
He listed some of the projects to include dualization of Yebumot-Adeta Roundabout-Oloje road, General Babatunde Idiagbon flyover at Tanke, Tanke-Oke Odo ring road, St. Clair’s road, Offa, Banni township road in Kaiama local government, Osi-Obbo road, Abdul Azeez-Oja Oba road, Ilorin, Ibrahim Taiwo-Ita Amodu road, Ilesa-Baruba Gwanara road, Ilesa-Baruba township road, Owode-Ofara-Alabe road, Ooloru township road in Moro local government, Lanwa road, Otte and Eyenkorin roads leading to Balah community in the Asa local government area.
Engineer Iliasu said that most of the infrastructural projects were aimed to attract investors, adding that investors always want to see what governments have on ground before they come in.
“Completion of the roads would make business thrive better. Markets along these roads would open more to encourage socioeconomic development. Investors would want to come to Kwara state more.
“For instance, in Banni town, we did Maigida to Banni road in 2020, it opened up the already big Banni market, more and more people ply the road. Unlike in the past when people spend like 3 to 4 hours from Ilorin to get to Banni, the journey has been cut to one and half hours. It also makes Kwara state to have better image as a state with good roads. We are proud to say that the roads would still benefit our people in the next 20 years.
Also speaking at the Babatunde Idiagbon flyover site at Tanke, Ilorin, the chief resident engineer of the project, Engineer Joseph Bamgboye, said that the flyover is a major project connecting four major axis in the state capital.
Engineer Bamgboye, who is also the assistant director, Kwara state ministry of Works, said that the flyover project would solve persistent traffic gridlock in the area, “with about 80 per cent of the traffic volume from the University of Ilorin”.
He said that piling and relocation of pipelines among other works had commenced on the project, assuring people of high quality of the job.
“Two segments are involved in the flyover project, consisting of 54 metres bridge, 850 metres in and out landing and there’s approval of the NNPC because it is working with the state government”.
At the site of Tanke-Oke Odo ring road project, Engineer Omolola Awolola from the ministry of Works, said that the 1.85 kilometre with 7.3 metres width is a feeder road to such densely populated and farming communities such as Balogun and Jalala.
“It hopes to improve quality of life as the bad state of the road had discouraged investment and socioeconomic development. The people that would benefit the project have expressed joy that the completion of the roads in three months would improve quality of their lives.
“We intend to make all the roads of world class standard. So, we call on our people living outside the state to come home and invest because the state is ready in terms of infrastructure. You can imagine going to Oyo state to bring in road equipment after exhausting local sources. I think our people can invest in that”.